The Division Bell

The Division Bell is the final studio album by Pink Floyd, released in 1994 (March 30 in the United Kingdom and April 5 in the United States), and the second album without Roger Waters. It was recorded at a number of studios, including guitarist/vocalist David Gilmour's houseboat studio called The Astoria. It went to 1 in the UK and debuted at the top of the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts in April of 1994, spending 4 weeks as the top album in the country. By contrast, Pink Floyd's previous album A Momentary Lapse of Reason had only reached 3. The Division Bell was certified Gold, Platinum and Double Platinum in the U.S. in June of 1994 and Triple Platinum in January of 1999. Its release was accompanied by a successful tour documented in the P•U•L•S•E album released the following year.



Before the Roger Waters-led period, David Gilmour stated that the music and lyrics were in balance, and the importance of the music was understood. The Division Bell's atmosphere is spacier, sounding more like Meddle or Obscured by Clouds than the grittier and harsher tones of Animals or The Wall. David Gilmour and Richard Wright stated on "In the Studio with Redbeard", which spotlighted The Division Bell (including interviews which were recorded for The Division Bell's world premiere special aired one week before its U.S. release) that the album was the band's best since their 1975 release Wish You Were Here.



This release marks the first time Richard Wright had sung lead vocals on a Pink Floyd album since 1973's The Dark Side of the Moon, although he did provide backing vocals for Wish You Were Here, Animals and A Momentary Lapse of Reason. It also marks his first songwriting credit on a Pink Floyd album since Wish You Were Here.



The track "Marooned" was awarded a Grammy in the category of Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the Grammy Awards of 1994. This has been Pink Floyd's only Grammy to date.



The cover artwork, by long-time Pink Floyd collaborator Storm Thorgerson, shows two metal head sculptures, each over three metres tall and weighing 1500 kilograms. They were placed in a field in Cambridgeshire and photographed under all weather and lighting conditions over a two-week period, sometimes with visual effects such as lights between them. Ely Cathedral is visible in the background, as are lights (actually car headlights on poles), shown through the sculptures' mouths. Rumours circulated at the time of the photography that they were in excess of 20 metres high; this was not true. The sculptures are now in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.



The cover photograph is slightly different on each format, and between the United States Columbia and British EMI releases. The Braille writing on the EMI CD jewel case spells Pink Floyd.



Two additional head sculptures were made of stone and photographed in the same manner; although they do not appear in the CD artwork, they appeared on the cassette cover, and can be seen in the tour brochure and elsewhere.



The artwork inside the lyric booklet revolves around a similar theme, except the heads are made up of various other objects, such as newspapers ("A Great Day for Freedom"), coloured glass ("Poles Apart"), and boxing gloves ("Lost for Words").



.PEACE and ENJOY the music of The Division Bell.